Two new custom homes are headed to Northern Boulevard after the Rio Rancho Governing Body on Aug. 13 rejected a neighbor’s appeal and upheld a Planning and Zoning Board decision allowing single-family houses on lots 10 feet narrower than city code typically permits.
The council considered two nearly identical appeals — one for 700 Northern Blvd. NE, one for 704 Northern Blvd. NE — both filed by resident Rebecca Smith against variances P&Z approved June 9 letting builders construct on 50-foot-wide lots instead of the 60 feet normally required in R-1 zoning. District One Councilor Deborah Dapson cast the lone dissenting vote on the split decision; Deputy Mayor and District Five Councilor Karissa Culbreath was excused.
Smith didn’t dispute the city’s inability to block a land sale — she disputed whether losing a neighboring lot counts as the kind of hardship the ordinance requires…